Vdara's 57-story tower houses 1,495 suites. The non-gaming property also includes a two-floor spa, meeting space, a pool deck, a market cafe, and a bar. A design problem was discovered in 2008, when it was learned that the hotel's reflective surface and concave design can act as a parabolic reflector that creates conditions of extremely high temperature at the pool deck.
History
Vdara was announced in October 2006, as part of the CityCenter project by MGM.[2] It was designed by Rafael Viñoly.[3][4] The name "Vdara" is made up. It was coined by Rafael Viñoly Architects, taking its "V" from "Vegas" and "ara" from boutique hotels in California such as Park Hyatt Resort Aviara and Ritz-Carlton Bacara.[5] On May 14, 2008, Vdara became the first of the CityCenter towers to be topped off.[6][7] Vdara opened to invited guests and media on December 1, 2009. The public opening occurred the following day, making it the first component of CityCenter to open.[8][9][10]
For its environmentally friendly design, Vdara was designated as a LEED Gold building prior to its opening,[11][12] and received a five-key rating from Green Key Global in 2010.[13]
In 2021, MGM bought out its CityCenter partner, Dubai World, gaining full ownership of the Vdara hotel and Aria.[14] That same year, MGM sold both properties for $3.89 billion in cash to The Blackstone Group, which leased them back to MGM for an annual rent of $215 million.[15][16][17]
Features
Vdara is a non-gaming and non-smoking hotel.[18] The crescent-shaped 57-story tower includes 1,495 suites,[8][19] ranging in size from 582 to 1,447 sq ft (54.1 to 134.4 m2).[20]
The property originated as a condo hotel, giving owners the option to participate in a rental program to lease their condos as hotel rooms when they are not residing there.[21] However, due to poor economic conditions brought on by the Great Recession, MGM converted 1,350 units into regular hotel rooms, leaving approximately 150 as residential units.[22][23] Condo closings began in March 2010.[24]
Big Edge sculpture outside the hotel entrance
Artwork is incorporated into Vdara's interior and exterior design.[8]Nancy Rubin's 57 by 75 ft (17 by 23 m) sculpture Big Edge, made of various boats,[25] is displayed outside the entrance of the hotel.[26][27][28] It features approximately 200 canoes, catamarans, kayaks, paddle boats, rowboats, and surfboards held together with stainless steel wire cable. The sculpture is meant to resemble a blooming flower.[25] A large painting by Frank Stella hangs above the registration desk in the lobby.[27][29]
Vdara includes an 18,000 sq ft (1,700 m2) two-story spa and salon,[30] and a 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m2) pool area.[8][3] Abbey Beach, a dayclub pool event targeted at a gay clientele, operated during 2010.[31][32] An interior walkway connects Vdara with the adjacent Bellagio and Cosmopolitan resorts.[33]
Vdara opened with 10,000 sq ft (930 m2) of meeting space,[8][3] and one full-service restaurant, Silk Road, which served Mediterranean food.[8] It was designed by Karim Rashid.[34] Market Cafe Vdara, a small grocery store also serving sandwiches and pastries, opened in March 2011.[35][36] Silk Road closed simultaneously, due to lack of demand.[37][38] In 2013, part of the former restaurant was converted into meeting and event space, with a Starbucks taking up the remainder.[39] Two years later, Vdara opened a bar, Vice Versa, in its lobby. It serves food, and includes indoor and outdoor seating which overlooks CityCenter.[40][41][42]
In 2017, Vdara debuted autonomous robots capable of delivering certain room-service items.[43]
Solar glare
In 2010, it was established that the tower's south side, with its reflective surface and concave design, can act as a collecting mirror. The reflected rays of the sun create dangerous conditions of extremely high temperature at the pool deck. Hotel employees and news outlets referred to the phenomenon as the "death ray", while management preferred the term "solar convergence".[44][45][46][47]
MGM and contractors became aware of the problem in 2008.[48][49] Vdara management considered various solutions but the challenge in overcoming the structural design problem is that the sun and its reflection are targets that constantly move during the day and as every season progresses.[44][50] Management installed large blue umbrellas over the pool deck to protect bathers,[51] while the hotel's glass exterior has been covered with non-reflective film.[52][53]
Viñoly also designed the "Walkie-Talkie" skyscraper in London, opened in 2014, which has been dubbed the "Walkie-Scorchie" and "Fryscraper" due to a similar, sun-reflecting and scorching problem.[52][54][55]
^Radke, Brock (August 4, 2013). "Vdara caters to a new guest: your dog". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved February 2, 2023. It also makes sense to allow hotel guests to bring dogs because Vdara has always maintained a small number of residential units (about 140 out of 1,495 total suites), and some of those residents have pets.
^ ab"'[Vdara] was a completely different problem,' said Viñoly, insisting he was following a masterplan that specified arc-shaped towers. 'We pointed out that would be an issue too, but who cares if you fry somebody in Las Vegas, right?'" : from "Walkie Talkie architect 'didn't realise it was going to be so hot'" by Oliver Wainwright, The Guardian, 6 September 2013
.jpg)
_-_Flickr.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
